Archive for March, 2012

Is your garage a piled mess of items you need to store but don’t have a designated space for them? Do you wish you could one day park the car in the garage again? If so, it is time to organize your garage. The best way to do this is to clean out the entire garage and install storage cabinets and other accessories to help you stay organized.

Once you clean out the garage, sort items into two piles – the items you want to keep and the items you no longer need. Now determine if the things you are getting rid of can be recycled, donated or just thrown away. Next take a look at your “keep” pile. Assess how much storage space you’ll need and what types of storage accessories will best accommodate your belongings. Garage storage cabinets are available in a wide variety of choices so it should be easy to find just the right ones to fit in your garage and accommodate all of your belongings. In addition to cabinets, there are other storage accessories available like shelving units, workbenches and counters that provide extra storage space and even work space.

Install storage cabinets and shelves according to your needs. Be sure to consider locking cabinets for items that you need to keep out of reach of small children such as power tools or harmful chemicals like pesticides. Remember to give the kids some storage space, too. Floor cabinets and shelves at the bottom of the shelving unit are easy-to-access for children allowing them to have a place to story outdoor toys, skateboards and soccer balls. Do you need a workbench for small home repair projects or a lighted counter space for hobbies? Consider all the reasons you’ll use your garage and install all the proper garage furniture and storage accessories.

Once cabinets, shelving units and other storage accessories are installed, store all your belongings in their designated spaces. Each time you use a particular item, return it to the place you got it from. This will help keep the garage floor clear and leave room for you to park the family car.

Affordable house plans are designed to satisfy the needs of a broad range of homebuyers. They are available in almost any architectural style from traditional to contemporary. They can be one or two stories or may consist of the main level and a finished basement. A variety of foundations are available with these floor plans as well, making it easy to accommodate various lot requirements. Affordable house plans can offer one or more bedrooms and baths. Depending on the arrangement of the floor plan, they are well suited for starter homes, empty-nesters and vacation homes. The affordable house plan collection presented by The House Plan Shop features homes that typically offer less than 1800 square feet of finished living space.

Because affordable house plans are typically small in nature, they generally feature compact and practical floor plans designed to deliver comfortable living without sacrificing functionality. Their space-saver floor plans are carefully created to meet tight budgets while still offering many of today’s most requested, functional features, such as a kitchen snack bar and an attached garage. They make the most use of every inch of living space.Additionally, since these economical house designs are slight in stature they require less building materials, therefore making them affordable to build.

Do you want to decorate your new home and give it a little pizzazz? One of the easiest ways to bring a room to life is with color. Decorating with color adds a personal touch while making the rooms in your home attractive and inviting. Before you begin take note: There is no such thing as an ugly color, but there are ugly color combinations. Now review the list of tips below to help you get some ideas for adding color and flair to your new home.

Don’t mix two pure (undiluted) colors in the same room whether it is paint, fabric, flooring, etc. When used together or in close proximity, the primary colors (yellow, red and blue) can make a room seem over-stimulating and visually noisy. Undiluted colors work better with neutral colors. Trying pairing red with brown or gray, blue with beige and yellow with white or cream.

Consider using color in unusual places. Paint the inside of a bookcase a unique color. Paint a wooden coffee table, end table or picture frame in an accent color that complements the room. Add throw pillows to the couch or a stylish vase on the mantle in a color that adds a little “pop” to the room.

Use white wisely. In the absence of other colors, white loses its stunning power quickly and becomes an overwhelming backdrop or a quality of light. In a white room, anything that is not white will steal the show visually no matter how diluted the color. This also includes artwork, the area rug, tile floor and plants. So, if you are planning to paint a room white, be sure you love all the colored accessories in the room.

Complementary colors (those that site opposite each other on the color wheel) can make a room look visually stimulating because they bring out the best in each other when used together correctly. For the best results, use one color in pure form and the other in a diluted, pastel or softened tone. Bright blue pairs nicely with a creamy peach color and bright yellow teams up well with a pastel lilac color.

If you decide to combine a few pure colors, be sure to vary the texture and/or sheen to generate visual interest. Some examples of various textures include wood, stone, ceramic, metals, metallic paints, silk and other various fabrics. A varied array of textures will keep the room interesting even when just a few colors are used.

These are just a few tips for using color in your new home. The House Plan Shop recommends checking with your interior decorator for more advice about decorating with color.